1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information processing techniques for playing back multimedia content.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, multimedia content including combinations of data such as moving pictures, still pictures, characters, symbols, graphics, music, and sound is becoming common. Such multimedia content can be played back using a personal computer (PC) or a portable terminal. By presenting image data and sound data in an effective combination, a provider of content can provide richer content compared with a case where only image data or sound data is presented.
With regard to such multimedia content, a display apparatus for presenting video and sound in a coordinated manner is known (e.g., refer to International Publication No. WO0018112). Also, a method of simply designing and editing multimedia content is known (e.g., refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-15333).
The display disclosed in the former document (WO0018112) forms a sound image for each segment of the screen, so that the display gives a better sense of presence but requires a plurality of sound sources. Also, it is to be noted that the display is to be used as a large display on the street, and is not intended for use by ordinary users.
Furthermore, although the method of simply designing and editing multimedia content, disclosed in the latter document (JP2002015333), allows a user to locate image data, sound data, or the like as desired, association between sound data and image data is not considered.